Improvement in straw-cutters



- sh 'I' JOSEPH H. BRADLEY. 2 ee Sheefl Improvement in Straw-Cuttegrs. No. 114,640. Par'vtented May 9,1871.

I 2Sheets--Shee2. JOSEPH H. BRADLEY.

Improvement in Straw-Cutters.

NO. 114,640. *Y Patented May9,1871.

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Wzlnes ses duurt iaia gaat etat Letters Patent No. 114,640, daad May 9, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN STRAW-'UTT-ERS.

`The Schedule refen'ed to in these Letters Patent and making paxt of the lame.

To allfwlwm it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOSEPH E. BRADLEY, ol Hillsborough, in the county of Highland andl State of Ohio, have invented a new and improved Machine for 4 Cutting Up Hay, Straw, and Eodder; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full andexact description thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawing which forms a portion of this specification- Figures 1 and 2 being side elevations of said invention Figure 3, a top view;' and Fignre4, a vertical section in the line a: a: of fig. 3.

, 'Similar letters indicate corresponding parts in the drawing.

The supporting-frame-of my improved straw, hay, and fodder-cutter may be constructed in any suitable manner.

The arrangement of the respective parts of' `said machine is such that the amount of forward movement imparted to its feeding-rollers can at any time be so. varied'as to cause the hay, straw, or fodde passed through the same to be ont to any desired degree-of shortness, and also in'such a manner that, should any woody substance pass between' the feeding-rollers to the rotating cutter, a reverse movement can be readily imparted to said rollers without imparting any movement to the driving-wheel.

At the after end of the feeding-box A the feedingrollers a d are located, as shown in the drawing.

The journals of the lower roller d are received into permanent bearings, which are secured to the sides of thefra'me of the machine.

The journals t t of the upper feeding-roller a work in vertical slo't'sin themetallic plates q g, which pro- .ject rearward from their connection with the afterends of the sides of the` feeding-box A to their connection with the forward ends ofthe bearing-blocks p p, which support the journal-boxes of the cutter-shaft b.

The descending ends of the cap Cof the upper feeding-roller a rest upon the journals ttof said roller, as shown `in fig. 1, and the saidcap C is attached to and pressed downward bythe after ends of the spring bars fr r, whose forward ends are secured to the upper edges of the sides of the feeding-box,lasralso shown.

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It will, therefore, be perceived that the said upper feeding-roller al will at all times be pressed down with the requisite degree of. force upon the layer of hay or straw which may be passing through the machine, Whether the same be a thick or a thin layer.

The cutter-blade c is secured to suitable arms or ings projecting from the main shaft b, and the position of said blade is such that it will pass close to the sharp alngle of the metalli/c bar s, over 4which the layer of hay, straw, or fodder passes as it emerges from the gripe of the feeding-rollers a d, and the out hay, straw, or fodder passes from themachiue down the inclined spout t. v

Motion is imparted to the respective operative parts o f my improved hay, straw, and fodder-cutter in the following manner, viz.:

A curved supporter, g, which is secured to the righthand side of the body of the machine, as shown in figs. 2 and 3, has a journal, fi, projecting therefrom that receives the driving-wheel j, which is combined with the operative hand-crank h.

The teeth of the said driving-wheel f gear into the teeth of the gear-wheel e on the end of the'cnttershaft @which shaft carries at its opposite end the dywheel D. l l. i

A crank-pin projecting from the front side of the ily-Wheel D receives the after end of the 'pitman whose forward end works upon a pin, y, that is secured within a slot in the curved arm 7c on the lefthand end of the rock-shaft Z, which shaft works in journal-boxes that are secnredin the sides ofthe feeding-box A, as shown in the accompanying drawing.

Av crank-pin projecting from the curved arm It is jointed to one end of a pushing-pawl, n, while the loose end thereof rests upon the teeth of the ratchetwheel d', which is secured to the left-hand end of the arbor of the lower feeding-roller d, as shown in figs. l and 3. r

The outwardly-projecting right-hand end of the rock-shaft Z terminates in a vshort crank, which is jointed to the pulling-pawl m, whose loose curved end rests' upon and takes hold of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel a/cn the arbor of the upper feeding-roller a, which arrangement of parts enables the oscillations imparted to the rock-shaft lthrough the medium of the pitman 7' to impart simultaneous intermittent movements to the feeding-rollers a d, and in such directions as to enable them to co-operate with each other in feeding the hay, straw, or fodder that may be placed in the feeding-box A tothe rotatihg cutter c.

The det-ent w holds the ratchet-wheel din a sta-Y tionary position `during the reverse movements thereupon of its operating-pawl n, and the detent 'u performs .the same function to the ratchet-wheel d during the reverse movements ofvits operating-pawl fm.

When it may be desired to vary the length of the cuttings of hay, straw, or fodder produced by the machine, this can readily be done by changing the Vposition of thecrank-pin y within the slot in the curved arm'r It on the left-hand end of the rock-shaft l, which is jointed to the outer end o'f the pitman j.

If a long cutis desired, the crank-pin y is secured at the shortest distance from theaxis ofthe rock-shaft;

and 'if a short out is desired the said .crank-pin is secured in a position further from the axis of motion of the rock-shaft.'

Should the movement ofthe cutter-blade be arrested by any hard substance being passed in between the feeding-rollers the-operative pawl and dotant-shouldA at once be thrown oi of the ratchet-wheel a', which will permit a. reverse movement to be imparted to the upper feeding-roller by simply taking hold of and drawing back the contents of the feeding-box, which will enable the obstructing substance t0 be found 'and Y removed.

A reverse movement of the driving-wheel f will not produce a reverse movement of the feeding-rollers a d, but, on the contrary, will produce a forward movement .of said rollers. Y

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of the cutter-shaft b with the feeding-rollers a d, through the medium` of the ilywheel D, the connecting-pitman j, the curved and slotted arm 7c, the rook-shaft l, the pushing-pawl n, the pnlling-pawl on, and vthevratchet-wheels aand d', when arranged andoperating with each other, and with the detents lw lv, and the rotating cutter-bladen, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth;

In testimony that the aforegoin g is a full and clear specification of my improvement in feed-cutters I Y Y hereunto subscribe lny name this 4th day of January, 1871.

JOSEPH H. BRADLEY.

Witnesses:

GEO. B. GARDNER, JNO. OONARD. 

